vs. Kent State (10/19)

[mbenecke]

BG next hosts one of the worst teams in all of college football, and... we're nervous about it. I didn't miss this feeling.

Falcons vs. Flashes at 3:30pm on ESPN+. Find a way, BG.

[guest44]

Have faith. Falcons beat the worst team in D1. Loeffler runs his record to 23-39 and the 10 year rebuild is back on. To the moon is actually, just better than Jinks.

[hammb]

Have faith. Falcons beat the worst team in D1. Loeffler runs his record to 23-39 and the 10 year rebuild is back on. To the moon is actually, just better than Jinks.

He's a worse coach than Jinks. I've been saying that for years.

I'll give him credit for getting a large amount of talent to choose BG, and many of them even stick around. He's football Huger in that regard. But dude can't coach.

That being said, I'm pretty confident they'll beat KSU. It may be closer than it should be. It may eve be downright scary if Bazelak can't play. But they'll find a way to beat KSU, largely because they simply have too much talent not to. Doesn't mean they're going anywhere this season, they're never going anywhere under this coach.

[guest44]

[quote=guest44 post_id=462786 time=<a href="tel:1728907416">1728907416</a> user_id=909]
Have faith. Falcons beat the worst team in D1. Loeffler runs his record to 23-39 and the 10 year rebuild is back on. To the moon is actually, just better than Jinks.

He's a worse coach than Jinks. I've been saying that for years.

I'll give him credit for getting a large amount of talent to choose BG, and many of them even stick around. He's football Huger in that regard. But dude can't coach.

That being said, I'm pretty confident they'll beat KSU. It may be closer than it should be. It may eve be downright scary if Bazelak can't play. But they'll find a way to beat KSU, largely because they simply have too much talent not to. Doesn't mean they're going anywhere this season, they're never going anywhere under this coach.
[/quote]


Totally agree. Terrible actual in game coach. You can see his D1 experience when it comes to developing talent both in the weight room and at tight end and defensive line positions especially. Don’t even get me started on the qb position. What a disgrace he has been there. In the portal era he hasn’t found a single qb someone else wanted. That’s nearly impossible. But game on the line he isn’t out coaching anyone. Give Buffalo credit. They found a coach who can do more with less and his rebuild sure as hell isn’t taking 5 or 10 years. He just knows how to win at the MAC level. Buffalo hired what the BGSU good old boys fantasized they had in Loeffler.

[jpfalcon09]

Have tickets but honestly don't want to go. Probably will because it's really the only thing I can do with pops any longer given his dementia. He enjoys being at the games even if he has no idea what's going on. The thought of sitting through three hours of horrid football makes me shiver though.

Plain and simple if this is a loss the season is over and it most likely will seal Scot's fate.

[BGSU33]

BG next hosts one of the worst teams in all of college football, and... we're nervous about it. I didn't miss this feeling.

THIS! My feelings exactly. How in the world are we here (again) after the team and performances we saw vs Penn State and Texas A&M??? As much as those loses were disappointing, they made me finally believe in this team and staff. I kept saying it sucked that we lost, but if we played that way the rest of the season vs peer-type competition, we're going to roll. But since then, we lost a tough one to ODU, we barely got past Akron and we were a total mess vs NIU. We now look NOTHING like that team that played Penn State or Texas A&M. Not the effort, not the execution, not the play calling, simply nothing. We closely resemble the teams we had a few years ago, not the one picked to challenge for the MAC with all the guys we had stay and return.

And I'll tell you what, we should be concerned about finding a way to win this game based off of what happened vs NIU. I am fully not expecting Bazelak to be out at least this week if not longer, and Orth is out too. And right now, Anderson looks completely lost out there. This is what drives me nuts about when we had a chance to give him live pass reps in a game like Fordham and don't. You know Orth isn't going to play, and you know Anderson has never thrown a live ball in a game, and he gets in one pass vs Fordham in a game where a pick 6 wasn't going to hurt you if he threw one. Instead, he's pressed into action with 1 career pass attempt in two years in one of our biggest games of the year and looked very unprepared.

Bazelak has been pretty damn solid all things considered this year and there's been some people bashing him. Look, he's not a mobile guy, we all know that. He knows that. But he's made some really good throws this year. And that OL that kept him upright vs Penn State and Texas A&M has been overwhelmed against lesser foes. There is a reason Anderson isn't starting over him and we saw why on Saturday. Anderson looked completely lost out there and extremely uncomfortable. Yes, he's still young, but remember, he got all the reps in spring and they were grooming him to be QB #2 entering the season. But then you looked across the field at NIU's Josh Holst last week and you saw a huge difference for a kid in the exact same shoes as Anderson was in. Holst is also a freshman and he was also thrust out there in a bad spot, and yet, he played relatively well. He made some big plays with is legs and extended plays with his feet to also hurt BG with his passes. He was out there making plays in a really tough spot to be in. Holst was 10-14 passing for 89 yards and added 47 rush yards and led them to the game winning score against a really good BG defensive effort. Anderson was 2-9 for 10 yards and a pick and rushed 5 times for 6 yards and looked completely baffled. Yes he was facing a stout NIU defense. But Holst was facing the same thing, and on the road for that matter.

And BTW - Kent State's QB just threw for 400 yards and 4 TD's last week. BG could be running a guy out there with 10 yards passing for his career. I really wouldn't be surprised to see Baron May out there vs Kent State if Bazelak is a no-go. We also need to be giving Stewart more than 13 carries in a game. The kid is our best RB and is an explosive play waiting to happen any time he touches the ball. The amount of times we go away from him, especially when we only need a yard or two or when the passing game isn't getting it done is just baffling to me.

[jpfalcon09]

Press conference notes:

Bazelak is DTD, same for Kleather in the kicking game. They'll prep Lucian but obviously it'll be a different look if he has to go. I'd put money on Bazelak playing, even at 75%.

Mantra of the day was confidence issues, especially on the OL. Loeffler says he doesn't know what happened to go from the performances at Penn State and A&M to the past three weeks. Said they're showing guys film of what they did well against those opponents and better players, trying to build them back up. I'm guessing that's coach speak.

As I mentioned in the Akron thread, Orth hasn't been cleared by his physicians and Loeffler was asked today about him, basically insinuating it's a long shot that he plays this year.

The Toledo game is a 3:30 kick on ESPN+.

[BGFalconfromCincy]

Something to watch for, Kent hasn't led in any game yet this season

[Globetrotter]

The line was 21 and the pts was 54. I would assume both of those won't be happening especially if Bazalek doesn't play.

[Flipper]

Heading into the ODU gam, I thought this team was going to challenge for a MAC title but now, after two losses and a close win against a bad Akron team...I once again have the usual low expectations for a SL coached BG team. Just finish the season already...

[mbenecke]

Orange helmets, orange jerseys, orange pants tomorrow.

[jpfalcon09]

Orange helmets, orange jerseys, orange pants tomorrow.

Pumpkin look for the final October home game.

[BGSU33]

Heading into the ODU game, I thought this team was going to challenge for a MAC title but now, after two losses and a close win against a bad Akron team...I once again have the usual low expectations for a SL coached BG team.

Same. And I can't believe I'm actually worried about possibly losing this game after watching BG play Penn State and Texas A&M the way it did juist weeks ago. Kent State is THE worst team in FBS and we're at home. A few weeks ago this was a no-brainer. Now, it looks like a much different ballgame. If Bazelak can play I'll feel much better. But if Anderson has to play and Kent State can contain our run game, I think BG will lose. I have zero confidence in BG moving the ball through the air without Bazelak. Has anyone heard if Bazelak is practicing or has practiced this week? I do have confidence we can run the ball vs Kent State if Stewart stays healthy (and we actually give him the damn ball) and we actually block for him. But if we can't run the ball and Anderson is at QB, the bottom will fall out tomorrow. Our entire season honestly feels like it's hanging in the balance right now to me.

[TommyG]

Just lean on Stewart….work some play action to Fannin on 1st and 2nd down situations…don’t be afraid to work some screens and quick hitters out wide. Don’t have to get cute….just execute simple offense, no matter who the QB is. They do that this game will be a comfortable win. Get the team some confidence and see if they can do anything from now until the end of November.

(I highly doubt you’ll see much of this, because as soon as they get a touch of success Loeffler goes into “slow developing play mode with a trick play mixed in mode.”)

It will likely be a close game until BG just out talents them in the 4th Quarter. Kent is probably the worst team in FBS.

[mbenecke]

RJ Garcia, Jaylon Tillman, Finn Hogan all out, as receivers. Kleather and Anaya out as kickers. No idea what we do at either of those positions.

Bazelak and Oladokun both listed as questionable.